Our Inspired Journey

My mom has been volunteering there since October, and was eager for us to visit the headquarters of the ministry that has grown so dear to her heart. We visited their new facility that was recently built, completely funded by donors. It was neat to see this beautiful ministry be housed in a building that really told their story. As a visitor, not only did the beauty of the architecture strike me the second I walked in, but the way the design and layout inspires the visitor to understand the heart God has for the disabled, was truly incredible.

First, we walked in the building and were given name badges to wear while we were on a tour. My Mom had recently been asked to become a tour docent and undergone training. I'm proud to say we were her first tour, and even prouder to say that she was wonderful...as we knew she would be! I told her, "If you can give a tour to a family with 3 kids under the age of 4, you can give one to anyone!"

The following picture is of the "floating chapel" seen right as you enter the building. It appears to be sitting on the water which flows underneath it and over the verse, "But let justice flow like a river - Righteousness like a never-failing stream. Amos 5:24. That is what this ministry brings to the community it serves...the ability to experience "just" love, in a world that often pushes them to the side.

Next, we walked up a ramp that surrounded the chapel that you can see a bit of in the above picture. One of the things I loved about this ramp (other than watching the boys run up, full of excitement!) was the way that scripture was inscribed on the walls at the end of every turn. Here's a picture of the boys standing next to one of my favorite passages of scripture since we began this journey with deafness.

I wish you could hear Cole beginning to shout and sing even now as he learns to listen and speak with his CIs, but every time I read this scripture, the Holy Spirit gives me a picture of my boy that I can barely describe in words. It's a picture of the freedom he'll feel one day when God "unstops" his ears, and he shouts and sings before the One who loves him most with a song I've never taught him...one he sings freely and without hindrance from any hearing impairment.

Recently, Cole has been speaking more freely and repeating more of the sounds he's been hearing now for the past 5 months since his implants have been activated. Some of those sounds are making their way into words like..."up, off, help, go, more" and most recently, his version of "airplane" has emerged since we returned for our trip. :) My heart skips a beat every time I hear a new sound roll off his little lips, since I know that the process it's taken him to receive this new information through his implant, synthesize it and actually reproduce it, is an incredible feat for his not-yet 2 year old brain. We are SO proud of him and the positive attitude in which he "works" at communicating to us through spoken language.

All of this work makes me appreciate even more, God's ability to "unstop" his ears and undo all that keeps him from hearing as we do. So, as some may ask...if God is that great, why doesn't he heal Cole and everyone like him now? Why wait until He comes? Isn't that cruel? Being at Joni and Friends that morning, reminded be of why those of us who are "abled" need to be in community with those who are "disabled." We are a prideful people by nature. If nothing difficult ever happened to us and we never lived to experience hardship, hunger, sickness, or anything else uncomfortable - in our perception, we would never need anything outside of ourselves. Some still live this way, though it never really brings the kind of joy or contentment they try to reach. Dead-end after dead-end leaves them feeling temporary artificial highs, only to slip down under the covers at night wondering if there will ever be more than this. Is this life really worth fighting this hard for?

Joni Erickson Tada asked these kinds of questions of God after surviving a diving accident as a teenager in 1967. This accident left her a quadriplegic unable to use her hands. Read her full biography here. God has taken a tragic accident in a women's life, and because she made a choice to LIVE in spite of the abilities taken from her, she is now an inspiration to millions around the world, with and without disabilities. There are so many ways this ministry blesses those affected by disability...

Wheels for the World: One way is by collecting, refurbishing and distributing wheelchairs to those who need them around the world. For more info click, here. One of the most beautiful pictures I saw on the wall was of a women in Africa being brought to a "Wheels for the World" distribution center...her friend was pushing her in a wheelbarrow. A wheelchair for this woman meant personal freedom...being able to move around without the help of another...something most of us take for granted every morning when we open our eyes, get out of bed and walk to the bathroom to take a shower. We don't think about how precious it is until we see someone without the ability to do something that seems so simple and ordinary. If you saw the look of elation and gratitude on the woman's face in that picture, you would know what I mean when I say...there was nothing about the gift of movement through a wheelchair that she took for granted that day. She was grateful. Seeing her joy in suffering made me grateful as well. And not just grateful that I could walk, but grateful that she could move freely now as well. See, I've never met this women. I don't even know her name. But because she couldn't move and now she can, I praise God. Because Cole couldn't hear and now he can, I praise God...because he used to be silent and now is learning to speak, I praise God.

Family Retreats: Since 1991 Joni and Friends Family Retreats has hosted five-day summer programs across the United States where families affected by disability can find hope and get a break from the challenges of everyday life. For more information on their retreats, click here.

The above picture is of my mom showing Cole a cross built entirely out the names of God...Provider, Healer, Holy One, Emmanuel (God with us). As Jesus was with the marginalized while he walked the earth, he calls us to do the same. When we truly walk alongside others who are disabled, we enter into a special place in the heart of our God....for when we meet, know and serve one who needs help moving, speaking, seeing, etc... we learn what it means to love like Jesus loved when he stopped for the blind man, and even under scrutiny, helped him SEE! Joni encourages those who are disabled be a part of a local church, and to not be afraid to let others in the Body serve them. She explains that it is through this relationship that those who are "abled" will be blessed by being the hands and feet of Jesus, and see in them that beauty God has created when they are joyful in all circumstances...even in the face of disability. What a priceless perspective we gain from being with those who may see and hear God more clearly than any of us with "normal" senses ever will.

Meeting and talking with employees...learning about the field ministries which are located throughout the world, empowering local churches to care for the disabled in their communities... seeing pictures of those who have been blessed in many ways through the mission of this ministry...these were all highlights of our tour through this facility and more importantly through the heart of this ministry. We will always remember, however, meeting Joni in person, visiting with her as she gave the boys toy cars, showed us her art studio, and just as we were about to leave - she prayed over our family. She prayed for both Cole and Ryder...that they would be brave and have courage as they venture through life. Through tears, I thanked her for the way this ministry that God started through her bravery and intentionality, has blessed my family. The picture of us with Joni at the top of this post was taken at the end of our time together.

When we first found out Cole was deaf, my mom placed him on the prayer list at Joni and Friends. While we walked through the building that day, person after person approached us to meet Cole and our family...the ones they had prayed for. They've embraced our family in many ways over the past 9 months. We received a package of stuffed animals and a list of resources for the deaf and hard of hearing when Cole was first diagnosed with profound hearing loss in both ears. Their connection to us felt like a lifeline as we navigated through uncharted waters. We are thankful for the way God uses the disabled to teach us how to love unconditionally, displaying His glory through their lives in powerful ways that change the hearts of the ones who love them. John and I truly consider it a gift to have been given each of our children to parent....and for the way Cole uniquely loves each of us, compelling us to do the same...seeing and loving others the way God does, and in the process be changed for His glory!